Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pat's Barbecue

Review: If you want to pick up barbecue and meth all at the same location, Pat's Barbecue is your joint. I'm kidding, of course, sort of. Pat's is situated at the end of a dead-end street in a somewhat run-down industrial zone. I'm pretty sure if I had walked around for a couple minutes, I would have bumped into Walter White or Jesse Pinkman. I actually enjoy restaurants in these types of neighborhoods. They lend an interesting juxtaposition to the surroundings. Alright, I know, I'll stop yammering and talk about food.

None in our group of ten or so lawyers had been to Pat's, so half of us bypassed the little yellow menus you're supposed to notice and grab on the way to your table. Eventually, we got ourselves situated, menus and all, and got down to the business of eating.

I ordered the smoked meatloaf plate. It came with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn bread,and creamed corn.

The meatloaf was what you want meatloaf to be: meaty, savory, juicy, somewhat dense, and covered in sautéed onions. The one thing missing was the smoke. I just didn't notice a discernible smoke flavor, although I could see a bark on the outside of the meat. In any case, this is the kind of meatloaf you wished your mom would have made when you were young. The cornbread was quality. The mashed potatoes were creamy and sticky, and the brown gravy was salty, meaty, and quite enjoyable. Then there was the creamed corn. I am not a creamed corn fan, but that changed midway through my first bite of Pat's creamed corn. The sweetness of the whole corn kernels coupled with the sweetness of the cream, joined with a bit of salty butter. Oh my, I salivate at the very thought. So good. So dang good.

In all, I missed a bit of the barbecue feel I wanted from the meatloaf, but the meal as a whole was good ol' downhome fare. The rest of the guys enjoyed their meals as well. In all, Pat's batted a thousand for the day.